Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The Taoiseach will recall that one of the main factors giving rise to punitive taxation over a generation was the massive, widespread and endemic scale of tax evasion. He will recall that the Minister for Finance of the day used to claim there was no pot of gold out there and it took various tribunals and good journalism to highlight that this was a society in which tax evasion was normal and that only people whose taxes were deducted at source and some other tax compliant citizens contributed to the cost of running the State's services. A figure was put on the scale of tax evasion by inquiries such as the Ansbacher inquiry, the NIB investigation and the DIRT investigation, which has retrieved almost €1 billion for the Exchequer. We thought we were in a new era but we now read of a tax settlement of €25 million, the largest in the history of the State, by a building company called Bovale Limited, the principals of which are two prominent members of the Taoiseach's party. They are also prominent donors to his party and attendees at every significant Fianna Fáil occasion. Has the Taoiseach taken action as a result of this settlement? How does the tax compliant citizen know whether this massive scale of settlement is unique to this particular building company? How are we to know whether other companies have a similar dedication to evading their tax liabilities?

Tax evasion is not a victimless crime. The moneys are deprived of those who are dependent on the State for a safety net in terms of minimal welfare payments and on getting access to a hospital bed and so on. What signal does it send out to tax compliant citizens that the perpetrators involved in this episode are feted at every significant event held by the Fianna Fáil Party? Does the Taoiseach intend to take action on this matter now that it has been finally resolved and the scale of evasion has become evident to all?

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